At least 8,200 people died and 14,800 other got injured in traffic accidents in Vietnam in 2018, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

An accident happened in Quang Nam province in November 2018. Photo: VnExpress

On average, traffic accidents claimed 22 lives per day during the year. The death-roll slid 1.9% from that in 2017.

Statistics by the GSO showed that the majority of the accidents were road crashes caused by high speed, driving in wrong lanes, changing direction without notice, and drunk driving.

Up to 80% of the cases occurred on roads, followed by railway accidents and waterway accidents, according to the GSO.

More seriously, the number of victims in a case hit dozens.

Meanwhile, statistics by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that the number of people killed in road crashes per 100,000 inhabitants in Vietnam remains high, at 26.1 people, ranking second in Southeast Asia just behind Thailand (32.6 people).

Experts from Sweden said that Vietnam should focus on road upgrading, speed limit, helmet coverage, and public awareness on safety. In addition, building safe roads by installing more traffic lights in urban areas and designing roads with different sections and lanes in rural areas is also needed to reduce the accidents.